Attorney Shao Shiwei | Trading Life for Acquittal: Reflections Triggered by the Abnormal Death of a Beijing Programmer During Residential Surveillance

Author | Attorney Shao Shiwei

The cross-border gambling case involving the Competitive Alliance Texas Hold’em Poker platform (hereinafter referred to as “Competitive Alliance”), which I have been closely monitoring, finally reached its conclusion at the end of 2024: the public security organs withdrew the case due to the absence of any criminal facts.—yet this vindication was obtained by the parties to the case at the cost of a life.

Jingji Lianmeng is a competitive mobile game centered on Texas Hold’em tournaments. Since its launch in 2019, it has enjoyed considerable popularity and once ranked first among peer applications in China in terms of gross transaction volume and user base. According to data published in July 2023 by GameLook (Youxi Daguan) [1], Jingji Lianmeng ranked fourth globally in the Texas Hold’em category, with estimated monthly gross transaction volume on iOS of approximately RMB 28 million.

The parent company behind Jingji Lianmeng is Youyou Interactive (Beijing) Technology Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as the “Company”). Xing Yanjun is one of the Company’s shareholders and its general manager.

In November 2023, the Hulunbuir police, citing suspected offenses of operating a casino, traveled to Beijing and carried out an inter-provincial arrest of Xing Yanjun and 13 other employees, and issued a press release.

The article states: “Through analysis and assessment of the gambling website, it was discovered that this is an organized criminal syndicate committing crimes by relying on the gambling website. The syndicate operates in a corporate manner, recharging and exchanging gold coins for gamblers on the website, and deploying fake bots to extract profits. Within just over two months, the transaction volume involved reached RMB 100 million, affecting 27 provinces (autonomous regions) and municipalities across the country. In early November, the special task force, through covert investigation, discovered that the syndicate was operating a gambling website company under disguise in an office building in Chaoyang District, Beijing. After several days and nights of surveillance, on November 8, the special task force raided and dismantled the gambling website operating company, arresting all 14 key suspects led by Dang Moumou.”

“The successful resolution of this cross-border online gambling case, achieved after traveling a great distance, marks another significant breakthrough by the New Barag Left Banner Public Security Bureau in combating unlawful and criminal activities.”

After being detained in a detention center for 37 days, the procuratorate issued a decision not to approve arrest. However, the local public security organs did not release Xing Yanjun and others on bail pending trial in accordance with the law, but instead placed them under residential surveillance at a designated location.

In April 2024, Xing Yanjun’s family learned through various channels that he had died in the room where he was held under residential surveillance. The public security organs did not proactively notify the family in a timely manner. Subsequently, official sources stated that his death resulted from hanging.

When the family went to the New Barag Left Banner Public Security Bureau, which was handling the case, to inquire about the cause of death, the police responded that the case was now under the responsibility of the municipal public security bureau and the municipal procuratorate, and that they were only responsible for liaising and communicating with the family.

Thereafter, the family retained the Xu Xin lawyer team to intervene in the case. Through the team’s persistent efforts, including repeated communications, reports, and complaints to multiple authorities, in December 2024, the New Barag Left Banner Public Security Bureau dismissed the case concerning the alleged operation of a casino via the Jingji Lianmeng Texas Hold’em APP on the grounds of “no criminal facts”The case involving the suspected operation of a casino through the Jingji Lianmeng Texas Hold'em APP was dismissed.

In certain types of cases (often those involving significant economic interests), these terms are frequently associated. If the evidence is conclusive and sufficient, and the criminal facts are established, then even if the handling authority engages in profit-driven enforcement, it may still be considered "judicially fair" provided that the punishment fits the crime for the individuals involved.

However, based on my practical experience in handling cases, such targeted "enforcement actions"In a considerable number of cases, there is often significant controversy over whether the business operations of the parties and their companies constitute criminal offenses.

Taking this case as an example, regarding whether the platform was involved in gambling, Dang Kulun, the actual controller of the company, stated to reporters that the platform only supported topping up game coins; the game coins could not be cashed out or traded off-platform, and the platform neither developed nor allowed third parties to engage in agency activities or accept bets. Judging from the final outcome of this case, the reason why the public security authorities dismissed the case was not due to the death of the suspect, but rather becausethere were no criminal facts, which corroborates the veracity of his statement.

Furthermore, based on the professional backgrounds of the company's personnel, there was no necessity for them to engage in illegal or criminal activities.

Dang Kulun is the largest shareholder of the company. He was formerly the actual controller of a Hong Kong-listed company and exited after cashing out. Due to this case, his property in Beijing valued at RMB 50 million and several million yuan in his domestic bank accounts were frozen.

Xing Yanjun is the second-largest shareholder of the company. According to his family, Xing Yanjun previously worked under Lei Jun, a well-known Chinese private entrepreneur. He held mid-level management and senior executive positions at YY Voice and Kingsoft Group, and led the development of the well-known software "Kingsoft Yingba." In 2012, JOYY Inc. (i.e., "YY") listed on NASDAQ. Xing Yanjun held original shares in the company and had already achieved financial independence.

Xing Yanjun and others should have been released on bail pending trial after the procuratorate decided not to approve the arrest, but were instead subjected to residential surveillance at a designated residence in violation of the law.

Residential surveillance at a designated residence is often accompanied by torture to extract confessions.

According to Article 73, Paragraph 4 of the Criminal Procedure Law, "The People's Procuratorate shall supervise the legality of the decision and execution of residential surveillance at a designated residence." Regrettably,the law is one thing, and practice is another.。

The decision to impose residential surveillance is made unilaterally by the public security organs without requiring approval from the procuratorate. This lack of oversight means that the procuratorate may not even be aware of the imposition of residential surveillance at a designated residence. Furthermore, generally speaking, unless lawyers actively file complaints or accusations, it is difficult for the procuratorate to proactively supervise such measures.

Moreover, illegal imposition of residential surveillance at a designated residence is not covered by state compensation, and investigative actions are not subject to litigation. We can therefore conclude that the absence of regulatory oversight combined with the lack of remedial mechanisms means that no case-handling personnel will face consequences for such actions. Consequently, this method of case handling is inevitably prone to abuse.

In recent years, there have been continuous news reports of incidents arising from the application of residential surveillance at a designated location:

(1) In March 2023, in Yushan County, Jiangxi Province, Chen Liyan was subjected to residential surveillance at a designated location on suspicion of organizing and leading a criminal organization with the nature of a mafia. Three months later, his daughter received a phone call from Mao Jun, an auxiliary police officer, who claimed to be guarding Chen Liyan at the designated location and used this pretext to extort property. Over the following two months, Mao Jun demanded property from Chen Liyan’s family members seven times, totaling 210,000 yuan.

(2) On July 7, 2022, Bao Qinrui was taken away from his home by the police on suspicion of picking quarrels and provoking trouble. Shortly thereafter, his wife was informed that Bao Qinrui had been placed under residential surveillance at a designated location. Although Bao Qinrui had residences in both Yuhua District and Gaoyi County, he had no residence in Xinle City; nevertheless, the notice of residential surveillance at a designated location was issued by the Xinle City Public Security Bureau. On July 20, 2022, Bao Qinrui died during the period of residential surveillance at a designated location. The cause of death was acute respiratory and circulatory failure caused by pulmonary artery thromboembolism, which was related to the long-term restrictive postures, repeated mechanical injuries, and electric shock injuries he suffered before his death.

(3) In April 2019, he was responsible for the investigation of a case involving evil forces. In August of the same year, a suspect in this case developed Wernicke’s encephalopathy while under residential surveillance at a designated location. The forensic appraisal opinion indicated that this was a metabolic encephalopathy caused by factors such as insufficient nutritional intake (not being fed adequately). The suspect was left in a persistent vegetative state, which was assessed as a first-degree serious injury.

This series of heartbreaking incidents inevitably prompts reflection on whether the system of residential surveillance at a designated location should be abolished.

The original intention of the legislators in creating the system of residential surveillance at a designated location was to establish a transitional stage between arrest and release on bail pending trial, aiming to ensure the smooth progress of investigative work while protecting the legitimate rights and interests of criminal suspects. The system of residential surveillance at a designated location serves as an alternative measure to arrest, designed to reduce the rate of pre-trial detention by courts.

However, today, the system of residential surveillance at a designated location has been abused and has become a means for some case-handling units to extract confessions.

Some may argue that this is not a problem with the system itself, but rather a problem with those who enforce it.This inevitably brings to mind a psychological experiment.

In 1970, Philip Zimbardo, a psychology professor at Stanford University, and his assistants constructed a simulated prison in the university’s basement. Subsequently, 24 emotionally stable college students who voluntarily participated in the experiment were recruited from the university. These students were randomly divided into two groups, with half acting as guards and the other half as prisoners.

At the outset of the experiment, both the "guards" and the "prisoners" were relatively relaxed, as they all understood that it was merely an experiment. However, as time passed, some prisoners had to be released due to mental breakdowns, while others became so deeply entrenched in their roles that they could not extricate themselves. Consequently, the experiment, originally scheduled to last two weeks, was terminated prematurely on the sixth day because the situation became uncontrollable.

This experiment demonstratesthat when one group is granted absolute power over another,due to certain specific environments and identities, even a person who is inherently kind and gentle may commit evil acts and suddenly descend into savagery.The boundary between good and evil is not fixed; it is mutable and can be crossed.。

(Image source: Based on the film The Stanford Prison Experiment, which was adapted from this experiment)

Therefore, although the law enforcement personnel involved in individual cases cannot escape blame, the abuse of the system should not be attributed solely to human factors. If a system incentivizes the darker aspects of human nature and lacks effective oversight and accountability mechanisms, its existence will inevitably cause more harm than good. The residential surveillance at a designated location system is a case in point.

Otherwise, is it possible that any one of us—you, me, or him—could become the next Xing or Bao?